Can’t win ‘em all, but that’s no surprise; the U.S. Supreme Court says that anyone resourceful or lucky enough to be on American soil and give birth, that baby is a U.S. citizen.
That opinion didn’t necessarily make a determination on the parents, but any baby of illegal (“undocumented,” if you prefer) or temporary immigrants is granted all the rights thereof. One wonders if that comes with a complimentary hand stamp, or at least a tiny flag.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the interpretation of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” ensconced in the 14th Amendment and the citizenship clause is absolute and not subject to interpretation.
While that did render an executive order from President Trump denying birthright citizenship moot, it really didn’t change what has been accepted practice for 150 years. It does, to my mind, give credence to the quote from “Braveheart’s” Robert the Bruce: “From top to bottom, this country has no sense of itself.”
The reason for this is that regardless of the method, immigration has been treated as an unassailable gift from this country — and gifts require nothing in return. When I think of the process my family went through, from my great-grandparents on my father’s side to my mother, aunt and grandmother on the maternal side, I have to ask: is this really the right way to approach that phrase?
Most immigrants go through the naturalization process, which includes learning the language, learning the history and taking an oath of fealty to our nation. That process has been subverted, especially with birthright citizenship. Add in amnesty legislation here and there, and there are wide swaths of U.S. residents that think this country owes them everything simply for showing up.
To continue the quote from “Braveheart” (and I paraphrase heavily here): “Its (immigrants) share allegiance with (their home countries). Its clans war with each other (and abuse social programs). If you make enemies on both sides of the debate), you'll end up (canceled by woke mobs).”
Seriously, when does an immigrant stop being an immigrant and start being a citizen? While the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” allows for a child to be a full-fledged citizen, does “jurisdiction” mean that child must be a citizen in more than just name? And how will that be brought about?
This country has slowly slid into pandering to the wants, needs and desires of anyone that shows up. Most voice mail systems ask you to press 1 for English; most federal and state documents are printed in both English and Spanish (except in California, where the state provides documents in 13 languages); and many of the larger groups celebrate special events and holidays that didn’t originate in this country.
Don’t get me wrong here. I’m Hungarian, and proud of that fact. So were all of my predecessors. While we celebrate our heritage, it never overshadowed the fact that we were Americans. Yet there have been instances where America has been left off in favor of other cultures and countries (many of you may remember that school children were asked to change out of their USA-themed shirts so as not to trigger other students celebrating Cinco de Mayo).
Yes, we are a nation of immigrants, but this is a single nation, and that needs to be paramount. We will never survive being a nation of immigrant nations.
Regardless, there is a bright side, or a side that actually has existed for some time: the law, and even the Constitution, can be changed. Just like the ruling in this case came about by following the correct process, the result can be reversed in the same way.
In the meantime, there are other measures. Pundits have put forth the idea that pregnancy tests be issued to those suspected of practicing “birth tourism,” or, as one legislator said, end immigration altogether.
I’m thinking that using the process that is in place; codify via legislation U.S. immigration policy, which can change the definition of birthright citizenship. All it takes is Congress, and we the people have a say in that through the ballot box. Then we can make immigration make sense again.
Tony Farkas is editor of the San Jacinto News-Times and the Trinity County News-Standard. He can be reached at tony@polkcountypublishing.com.
